2018 Review of the year outdoors - part 2

2018 Review of the year outdoors - part 2 (of 2)

Continuing on from the first part of the year here.

 June - Lee Valley

As the weather was very nice I decided to go for a long run out of London along the Lee Valley, and see how little equipment I could get away with for a night's sleep.
I managed to get everything into a lumbar pack (aka "bumbag", [or “fanny pack” for the Americanists, if you really insist]), although I did have to strap the bedroll underneath.

The morning after. Everything packed away into a small pack and bedroll.

I didn't even take an insulated sleeping bag, just a waterproof-breathable "bivvy" bag, a thin foam ground sheet and a ultralightweight comfort pad constructed using black balloons.Yes really. With an extra layer of clothes on top of my running clothes I was fine, despite a very short light shower in the night, and the attentions of some annoying flying insects.

The minimalist sleeping set up

 
But really, my conclusion here is that in fine weather you would not really need a lot to survive and travel outdoors. Provided you have food and water it's quite possible to have a comfortable night outside.
Hardy adventurers in "times past" (real or imagined) surely just wrapped their woolen cloaks around themselves and got a night's sleep.

July - Hadrian's Wall

In July I visited family in Carlisle and took the opportunity for a long run in the environs of Hadrian's Wall.
It was a beautiful day but I couldn't help thinking of the mindset of the Roman soldiers who would have travelled huge distances (and not just from Rome but from all over the Empire) to trudge along what must most usually have been a pretty grim frontier.
 

Amazing to think how many Roman soldiers climbed these steps so long ago.

Small fort or perhaps a grain store? Very thick walls anyway...!

Standing in the remains of a small gatehouse it was easy to start to imagine little vignettes of interactions between the soldiers and the locals who - quite suddenly - had a fortified border constructed across their farmlands and trade routes.

August - Peak District

The following month my sister took me to see Blue John Caves in the Peak District. 

One striking feature of this show cave was the "ceiling river bed" - where due to the immense force of underground rivers the roof of the cave looks like a dried river bed carved into the rock. Other features included huge boulders seemingly precariously balanced and wedged between the walls. Amazing what just water and time can do. 

Ceiling river bed (this is the view upwards!)

Not too far away from the Blue John show caves we went on a quest to find what was marked on my map as "Robin Hood's cave". We got close to the small cliff, or "edge" in local parlance, and could see a few people investigating the cave at the top of the ledge. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be an easy way up from below.
...however I passed my Dexterity check and managed to find a way up to the top which consisted of a series of high but wide steps. Each one required me to haul myself up, but then gave enough space to regain my balance safely.
I tentatively went up a few and then checked that I could descend the same way. Then there was nothing for it: I pushed on up through to the top. Success!

I felt a bit like Frodo on Cirith Ungol

Got up (and down again) slowly but surely.

View at the top was worth it

From there it was easy to have a look into Robin Hood's cave. It certainly did look like it would be a suitable place for a few brigands to camp, with a great view of the surrounding landscape.

More Tolkien-esque scenery

October - Mosedale Valley, Lake District

As well as nights "wildcamping" I've set myself an informal goal of visiting some of the UK's bothies. Bothies are very basic shelters in wild places left open for the use of passersby. The Mountain Bothy Association (which relies on memberships and donations for funding... nudge nudge) maintains a few of them, but there are many others if you know where to look. 
Having seen a couple of bothies on my travels before but never having staying on one, the aim of this trip was to stay in one of the few non-Scottish bothies maintained by the MBA - known as Mosedale Cottage.

The stepping stones were fine. Right up to the last 3 metres where they ran out... *sigh*

The run there along Mosedale valley was lovely, but while I was still a mile or so away from where the map said the bothy was to be found as evening fell and the light dimmed I heard a monstrous yet soulful bellow. I have to admit I felt a little scared and very alone.
However, I looked around and saw a very obvious silhouette on the ridge line: 

Stag checking on intruders (me!)

What an amazing sight to see a stag and his herd. I have to admit I thought such herds were confined to Scotland rather than the English Lakes.

I did eventually get to the bothy and found it unoccupied.
In the morning I headed off in the same direction towards the train line back to London.

Cave or quarry?

Purely by accident I spotted what I thought was a natural cave but turned out to be a long abandoned mine.
Imagine my surprise when I encountered the sole surviving inhabitant:

Slate golem

Slate Golem are often used as brute force slaves in the mines they inhabit. Usually they ignore people around them and slowly but surely continue with their allotted tasks, but occasionally the sight of someone taking a particularly choice slice of slate or a handful of dazzling gravel will elicit immediate and forceful envy, resulting in a violent encounter. Slate is sharp and hard but vulnerable to shattering if struck at the correct angle.

Thankfully my slate golem was lost in thought, so I continued on empty handed.

And the trip wouldn't be complete without a corpse or some body parts...

Yeah, the Lake District can be pretty metal

January 2019

Yeah I know January 2019 isn't in 2018, but I had to brag about this one...

I took the sleeper train to Aviemore in Scotland for a 3 day guided trek. There wasn't as much snow around as we had hoped, but the relatively good weather meant we were able to camp out on the summit of Ben Macdui, Britain's second highest mountain.
I didn't even use a tent.

Dawn after a quiet night in a bag in January on the UK's 2nd highest mountain.

In the evening there was a cloud inversion (where you are above the cloud layer) and the surrounding peaks sat like islands around us. Sunset and sunrise were both amazing. My thermometer said it got down to -13⁰C, but with enough layers of clothing and sleeping bags I was comfortable.
With the right gear, and a lot of luck the amazing is possible.

Yeah, I'm pleased with that. (Sorry about the orange shopping bags full of kit though, my rucksack was additional feet padding!)



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